This week's shared topic over at Blog Azeroth is all about our own autoblogographies. It's main focus is on how we began our journeys as WoW bloggers, why do we do what we do, the challenges we may face, so on and so forth. While my blogging journey thus far been rather short, I do have a story to tell - however minor it may really be.
What started it all.
Once upon a time, in a land far far away from Azeroth, there lived a girl in the great white north (aka Michigan). She grew up doing the normal things that most kids in America do: go to school, hang out with friends, write numerous amounts of papers on mundane topics to keep her English teachers off her back...you know, kid/young adult stuff. Now, this girl wasn't particular fond of writing, but from a very young age she had a certain knack for it. Often her mother, who during the girl's middle school/high school days had returned to college, would come to this girl to proof read her papers, which almost always resulted in an A paper for the mother with perhaps only a single mistake marked up. At school though the girl was bored of the topics given to her, and often refused to do more work than what was necessary to pass her classes.
College soon began for that girl, and again the English courses often failed to inspire her. Even the creative writing courses failed to spark her imagination. The topics of "What has been the most emotionally significant moment in your life?" and "What was the most pivotal experience that has changed your life?" or "What is your biggest, baddest life secret?" all just seemed to personal to actually write about, plus being at a young age she didn't really feel that there had been a significant number of life altering situations in which she could share with that limited audience of the teacher. Again, she resorted to doing the minimal amount of work needed to pass, only throwing her heart into the one or two non mind-numbing topics that came her way.
Throughout her high school and college career she kept a DeadJournal account, and later a LiveJournal account as well. This wasn't really the place where creativity took place, but it simply allowed for an outlet. It also kept her writing without her even knowing it. It forced her away from the L33T SP34K and short hand crap that most of her friends who only used AIM had been infected with, and it allowed her to reflect back on times that she may have otherwise had forgotten. While it may have been mostly a place to QQ to the world about what was going on in her life, it was also a place that kept a hidden talent somewhat nurtured.
Soon the girl began to play WoW. She helped form guilds and filled their forums with content. She found that even though she was fairly quiet in real life, she had a voice in the land of all things digital. She had the gift of digital gab. Whether or not she was able to hold folks' attention spans for very long remained a mystery to her, but she didn't care. She just kept typing.
The girl's real life soon shifted, and the guilds with their forums soon disappeared. Where was she to turn? She longed to chat about WoW things, but had no platform in which she could speak from. No crowd in which she could speak to. The old LiveJournal account was fairly dead, but even if it wasn't, there was no going back to that, for it did not contain her WoW life, but simply was the remainder of an old life long since gone.
One night the girl had been speaking to a WoW friend, and he had somehow brought up the idea of how someone had once blogged about leveling their character. This was the spark. While the original idea was to do something similar, but with an actual story line twist to it (role-play writing, something the girl had never really done). While she loved this idea, she felt that she would need another blog in order to keep her readers updated on her various projects.
That secondary blog, my dear friends, is what you're reading today.
The Challenges, They Come as They See Fit.
While the original intent of my blogging was to actually get into story writing, I've found myself shifting. I've come to find that I more prefer an article type style of writing over story writing simply because I have a very short memory. Yes, I am one of those types who needs to write things down to remember them, only to forget where I put the piece of paper that had the list of the things I needed to remember on it.
It's been a few years since I've been out of school, and this in itself has presented a bit of a problem: I'm rusty. All the writing in this blog that I've done in the past few weeks has left me feeling much like I would have felt after a week's worth of exams back in college. My mind seems to be more or less an unused muscle in the creative sense. Sure, I used to write heartfelt posts, posts on what you should be gemming/enchanting/speccing as for x class, and various other non-sense for the guild, but I haven't actually written anything in years.
For those of you that don't know (for there are still multitudes that do not), I'm also in real life a very nervous person. This hasn't always been the case, but it has been a major issue for some time now. In the past few weeks, while it's been challenging trying to get myself back up to what I deem as my writing standards, it's also been incredibly therapeutic for me. I've been less twitchy - as I so like to term it. It's been a major positive influence in my life, even in the few short months that this blog has been in existence. Even so though, trying to get this blog up and running, attempting to dive into the WoW blog community, and trying to get myself into free-lance writing in real life has been...well, scary.
While I may have a list of challenges that I face from day to day with both real life and this blog, I plan to face these challenges and laugh at them; defeat them. All because I have a place to spill out my craniumorial (yes, I love to make up words) contents into, I have begun to make that change that all of us needs at one point or another in our lives.
To Each Action There is Always an Equal and Opposite Reaction
Game wise, this blog has also caused me to think slightly different. No longer do I simply worry about the best way to gem or whether or not I should be standing in fire...granted this is also in part due to my lack of ability to raid these days...details. No, now I also find myself looking through my bank, wondering which new Hoarders: Azeroth Edition I should do up next. I've also been thinking more about gear sets, and how I can best apply them into The Rack. My questing has taken on a slightly different form as well, because now I often find myself taking screen shots of quests I particularly enjoyed, but don't have time to read. Simply, blogging about WoW has shifted my thought process a bit, and this isn't a bad thing in my eyes.
Here's to What Was, and to the Future.
At the end of the day, my blogging journey is really about me and my desire to remember. I honestly wish I had started a WoW-based blog back when I first began playing. Sadly I had no idea how obsessed I would be with the game three and a half years later, nor did I realize how much I would have forgotten in that time span. I want that option of being able to look back a year or two from now to see what I was up to. I want to remember what kind of silly antics I was up to, which things I was obsessively trying to collect, what I was thinking. Sure, at first I simply wanted to unbottle the babble that was stuck in my head, but ultimately, it's all about the memories.
I'm such a sucker for the past : P
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
OMG the Cuteness!!!
Just as I was about to call it a night, a retweet by Allison Robert - who is one of the writers that works on Shifting Perspectives at WoWInsider - that was directed @WoWInsider caught my eye. It simply stated "Have some cuteness for your day <3" It then proceeded to share this fan art link.
I am so in love. I'd take all of them home!!!
In other non-related WoW news, I caught another tweet by AOTS (Attack of the Show on G4 for those of you who may live under a rock) which gave a link to their interview with the cast of Harry Potter. Gingers really are the greatest super heroes of all time, I'm fairly certain of this! I really can't wait for this movie to come out on DvD (I don't do movie theaters, no matter how good a movie it will be). Pretty excited, to say the least!
There's my last bit of nerdery for the evening, enjoy the links!
I am so in love. I'd take all of them home!!!
In other non-related WoW news, I caught another tweet by AOTS (Attack of the Show on G4 for those of you who may live under a rock) which gave a link to their interview with the cast of Harry Potter. Gingers really are the greatest super heroes of all time, I'm fairly certain of this! I really can't wait for this movie to come out on DvD (I don't do movie theaters, no matter how good a movie it will be). Pretty excited, to say the least!
There's my last bit of nerdery for the evening, enjoy the links!
Hoarders: Azeroth Edition - Bad Romance
If you are the type that blushes easily, you may wish to refrain from reading the rest of this post at work! Generally though the content is safe for public pleasure. *Shifty eyes and a sly grin*
Good evening fellow Hoarders. This week we shall be getting a bit, how do you say...saucy? I'd like you to /afk for a moment to slip into something more comfortable while I go collect the glasses and a bottle of my finest Dalaran drink. Please, make yourself at home.
This edition of Hoarders is all about the Steamy Romance Novel series. So don't be shy. Kick back, pop on some Barry White, and relax with a glass of wine. I assure you that we'll have a good time ; )
-----
A Steamy Romance Novel
As Nahni glided up, the grizzled warrior gave her a hard stare. "I suppose you're here to collect the reward for killing those murlocs?"
Her eyes wandered down to the glowing broadsword at his side. "That depends on what the reward is, Marcus." She twirled her hair playfully, pretending not to notice how he shifted uncomfortably in her presence. "I may not want it."
Marcus stepped toward her, bristling with a mixture of fear and anger. "The reward is not negotiable!" He paused for a moment while gathering his nerve, and pressed himself against her diminutive form. Their lips met hotly, melting her frost armor spell in a torrent of sweltering vapor.
"So, is there another step to this quest?" she teased, her eyes glittering with excitement.
<This goes on for several hundred more pages, without advancing the plot.>
A Steamy Romance Novel: Forbidden Love
Ah'tusa crept silently through the massive underground tunnel, nervously looking over her shoulder in anticipation of the fast moving tram. "Where is he..." she muttered angrily, stopping suddenly as something moved behind her. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as her dagger slid from its sheath.
A husky voice echoed in the hollow chamber, "I thought rogues liked to be behind their target." She spun quickly, driving her blade into a shield of impenetrable force. "And I thought paladins were supposed to be chaste." she replied with a confident smirk.
Leaning forward, she counted out loud until the invisible bubble dissipated with an audible pop. "Twelve seconds? I know you have abilities that last longer than that."
Bony fingers worked effortlessly beneath his armor, unlatching his breastplate and exposing him to the cold air. "Don't worry my sweet Marcus, that's not a finishing move tonight... I'm just getting started." He wrapped his arms around what remained of her waist, forcing an excited giggle as he nibbled at her neck vertebrae.
<The rest of the book has several sections that are apparently worn out from repeated readings.>
A Steamy Romance Novel: Northern Exposure
The tiny gnome peered over the railing into the secluded Dalaran courtyard.
"The view from the balcony is amazing. You have to come see!"
Armor legplates creaked as Marcus walked over, taking in a deep breath as he absently scratched his scruffy chin.
"The Hero's Welcome is no slouch. And there's something in the room that might interest you."
Tavi bounded into the room, pausing only a moment before jumping onto the massive bed. She turned to gaze at Marcus with her huge saucer-like eyes, narrowing them playfully and replacing her glowing smile with a diabolical grin.
"Interested in some more company?" she purred as her hands weaved through a complex summoning ritual, stopping only when she felt the warmth of a new presence behind her.
All color drained from Marcus's face as he struggled to protest. "I... I don't think that's appropriate."
Confused, Tavi turned to see what was wrong. A hideous fel hound stood ready, drooling onto the floor as it stared intently at the half-armored paladin.
"No! No that's not what I meant." she stammered as she dispelled the hungry demon. "I'm sorry, that's not really my specialization...."
Marcus took both her hands in one of his as he reassured her, "It's fine. What is your specialization?"
Her head snapped up, eyes burning with renewed life as shadowy energy channeled through her hands into Marcus, dropping him to his knees in agony.
"Affliction, actually."
Gritting his teeth, Marcus gestured as light flashed over him, restoring his strength.
Tavi stared anxiously as he rose to his full height, engulfing her in his shadow. He thrust his hand forward, sending a wave of righteous force through her. Eyes rolled back as she wavered for several seconds before regaining consciousness.
"I've recently taken the path of... retribution."
The mischievous smirk returned to her face, "Well then, this is going to be fun."
<The remaining pages have a level 99 requirement to read.>
A Steamy Romance Novel: Blue Moon
Tail swooshing and hips swaying, the curvy figure walked purposefully across the lake toward the man resting by the shore; rising quickly as she approached, he appeared visibly happy to be in her presence. Blue arms flowed over his shoulders as a smooth tail coiled seductively around his waist. "Why must I travel so far to be meeting man like you?" Her voice carried a strong, alluring accent.
Grinning wildly, he gently pushed her away, openly staring as the light caught her features.
"Up here!", she exclaimed in playful anger.
With a helpless shrug, he reached into his pack and pulled out a small pouch. "My wonderful Soola, I've brought you something." Confidence wrapped his words like a steel blanket.
She plucked the tiny bag from his hands, excitedly pulling it open and revealing a citrine pendant.
"Oh... Marcus, you shouldn't have."
The usual teasing was gone from his voice, "Every facet lights the sky, and my heart, with your beautiful reflection."
Soola frowned. "Uh... no. I meant you really shouldn't have. I could craft something better by accident."
For the first time, possibly ever, Marcus looked hurt. His shoulders slumped slightly, the cocky, ever-present grin missing from his handsome face.
Soola opened her mouth to speak, smiling warmly; a glowing rune appeared above her eyes. "I don't think I can mend your feelings, even with my Gift."
Despite the statement, her words seemed to do the trick, Marcus smirked roguishly as he adjusted his leg plates, "Well you aren't the only gifted one."
Silence penetrated the room with palpable force as the conversation shifted to the language shared by all races of Azeroth.
Minutes became hours, until their passionate dialog was interrupted by lightning streaking from the cloudless sky, thunderously slamming into the lake's surface and bathing them in steam.
"Is something wrong?", Marcus asked.
"No my Marcus, you're just off to a great start."
The remaining pages have been thoroughly destroyed by the elements.
A Steamy Romance Novel: Big Brass Bombs
The tough little goblin walked purposefully into the engineering shop, raising her eyebrows at a few items as she approached the shopkeeper.
"How's it going, Jack?" Her voice seductively brushed his pointy ears with the rough texture of someone who inhaled too much motorcycle exhaust.
The goblin called Jack looked up and grinned. "Revi! It's going much better since you just arrived." Jack set his arclight spanner on the table. "What can I do ya for?"
Holding her elbow in one hand, Revi tapped her chin lightly. "I'm not real sure. Ya got any specials?"
"Are you kidding? I've got the best deals anywhere!" Jack replied enthusiastically. "Just got these in this morning, in all sorts of colors. Small red rockets, got some in blue and green too." Revi's disappointed look was not missed by the expert shopkeeper, and he quickly upped the ante. There was a loud 'thud' as Jack dropped something on the table, "I call it The Big One," he said. "It's goblin only, very difficult to find."
"Nice, very nice," Revi said, sounding unconvinced. Her eyes wandered a bit.
"Okay, fine. I can see you're a goblin of superb taste." Jack looked around conspiratorially before carefully laying out a new item, buckling the table with an ominous creak. "It's called..." Jack paused for dramatic effect, "The Bigger One!"
Revi's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that... is it... real?"
Feeling the advantage, Jack allowed himself to relax a bit. Putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair, he replied with lazily narrowed eyes, "It's 100% goblin parts, baby. Natural resources."
After a moment of hesitation, Revi reached out and gingerly stroked the smooth yellow surface. "I'll take two!"
"Excellent! You know, if you like that, you might be interested in some hardened adamantite tubes. They can enhance the effect."
Revi nodded excitedly and looked behind Jack at something on the wall. "What is that?"
Jack looked over his shoulder. "Oh, those are for reviving dead people."
Revi was intrigued. "Can they be used on someone while they're still alive?"
Never wanting to miss a sale, Jack responded without missing a beat, "Oh sure! Tell you what. You get all this stuff, and I'll throw in a pair of mayhem projection goggles for half price!"
Revi pulled out a sack of coins that made Jack drool. "Why not? Motorcycle sales have been good this year."
As Jack quickly tallied the total, he asked, "This must be a serious raid or somethin'?"
Revi shrugged, "Nah, I got a blind date with a guy named Marcus tonight."
Jack nodded. "What about that guy from the motor club you was datin'?"
The leather-clad goblin scooped up her bag with one arm, and held up an outstretched hand. "He never put a ring on it. A girl's gotta have her priorities."
Jack smiled and shook his head as he watched her walk out of the shop.
<The remaining pages require a secret goblin decoder ring to read.>
-----
This series, my dear Hoarders, is one of a kind in Azeroth. The Steamy Romance Novels follow a Dwarf Paladin by the name of Marcus and tell the tale of his...endeavors. There must have been one heck of a creative WoW developer who was feeling a bit frisky one night to come up with such an...engaging...gray item.
All of these books are obtained by a Rogue going around picking various mobs' pockets. Here we were lead to believe that Rogues were just after people's wallets...turns out they like to steal books from the back pockets of people as well! Northern Exposure is a bit different though, and instead of being left in a back pocket, it just so happens to be left carelessly in a Bag of Fishing Treasures that you receive as a reward from the Dalaran fishing daily. To find out more about how to acquire each of these books, please click the links that are provided on each of the novels' titles.
That's all for this week. I hope that I've left you satisfied with this edition of Hoarders...*Sexy smirk*
Good evening fellow Hoarders. This week we shall be getting a bit, how do you say...saucy? I'd like you to /afk for a moment to slip into something more comfortable while I go collect the glasses and a bottle of my finest Dalaran drink. Please, make yourself at home.
This edition of Hoarders is all about the Steamy Romance Novel series. So don't be shy. Kick back, pop on some Barry White, and relax with a glass of wine. I assure you that we'll have a good time ; )
-----
A Steamy Romance Novel
As Nahni glided up, the grizzled warrior gave her a hard stare. "I suppose you're here to collect the reward for killing those murlocs?"
Her eyes wandered down to the glowing broadsword at his side. "That depends on what the reward is, Marcus." She twirled her hair playfully, pretending not to notice how he shifted uncomfortably in her presence. "I may not want it."
Marcus stepped toward her, bristling with a mixture of fear and anger. "The reward is not negotiable!" He paused for a moment while gathering his nerve, and pressed himself against her diminutive form. Their lips met hotly, melting her frost armor spell in a torrent of sweltering vapor.
"So, is there another step to this quest?" she teased, her eyes glittering with excitement.
<This goes on for several hundred more pages, without advancing the plot.>
A Steamy Romance Novel: Forbidden Love
Ah'tusa crept silently through the massive underground tunnel, nervously looking over her shoulder in anticipation of the fast moving tram. "Where is he..." she muttered angrily, stopping suddenly as something moved behind her. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as her dagger slid from its sheath.
A husky voice echoed in the hollow chamber, "I thought rogues liked to be behind their target." She spun quickly, driving her blade into a shield of impenetrable force. "And I thought paladins were supposed to be chaste." she replied with a confident smirk.
Leaning forward, she counted out loud until the invisible bubble dissipated with an audible pop. "Twelve seconds? I know you have abilities that last longer than that."
Bony fingers worked effortlessly beneath his armor, unlatching his breastplate and exposing him to the cold air. "Don't worry my sweet Marcus, that's not a finishing move tonight... I'm just getting started." He wrapped his arms around what remained of her waist, forcing an excited giggle as he nibbled at her neck vertebrae.
<The rest of the book has several sections that are apparently worn out from repeated readings.>
A Steamy Romance Novel: Northern Exposure
The tiny gnome peered over the railing into the secluded Dalaran courtyard.
"The view from the balcony is amazing. You have to come see!"
Armor legplates creaked as Marcus walked over, taking in a deep breath as he absently scratched his scruffy chin.
"The Hero's Welcome is no slouch. And there's something in the room that might interest you."
Tavi bounded into the room, pausing only a moment before jumping onto the massive bed. She turned to gaze at Marcus with her huge saucer-like eyes, narrowing them playfully and replacing her glowing smile with a diabolical grin.
"Interested in some more company?" she purred as her hands weaved through a complex summoning ritual, stopping only when she felt the warmth of a new presence behind her.
All color drained from Marcus's face as he struggled to protest. "I... I don't think that's appropriate."
Confused, Tavi turned to see what was wrong. A hideous fel hound stood ready, drooling onto the floor as it stared intently at the half-armored paladin.
"No! No that's not what I meant." she stammered as she dispelled the hungry demon. "I'm sorry, that's not really my specialization...."
Marcus took both her hands in one of his as he reassured her, "It's fine. What is your specialization?"
Her head snapped up, eyes burning with renewed life as shadowy energy channeled through her hands into Marcus, dropping him to his knees in agony.
"Affliction, actually."
Gritting his teeth, Marcus gestured as light flashed over him, restoring his strength.
Tavi stared anxiously as he rose to his full height, engulfing her in his shadow. He thrust his hand forward, sending a wave of righteous force through her. Eyes rolled back as she wavered for several seconds before regaining consciousness.
"I've recently taken the path of... retribution."
The mischievous smirk returned to her face, "Well then, this is going to be fun."
<The remaining pages have a level 99 requirement to read.>
A Steamy Romance Novel: Blue Moon
Tail swooshing and hips swaying, the curvy figure walked purposefully across the lake toward the man resting by the shore; rising quickly as she approached, he appeared visibly happy to be in her presence. Blue arms flowed over his shoulders as a smooth tail coiled seductively around his waist. "Why must I travel so far to be meeting man like you?" Her voice carried a strong, alluring accent.
Grinning wildly, he gently pushed her away, openly staring as the light caught her features.
"Up here!", she exclaimed in playful anger.
With a helpless shrug, he reached into his pack and pulled out a small pouch. "My wonderful Soola, I've brought you something." Confidence wrapped his words like a steel blanket.
She plucked the tiny bag from his hands, excitedly pulling it open and revealing a citrine pendant.
"Oh... Marcus, you shouldn't have."
The usual teasing was gone from his voice, "Every facet lights the sky, and my heart, with your beautiful reflection."
Soola frowned. "Uh... no. I meant you really shouldn't have. I could craft something better by accident."
For the first time, possibly ever, Marcus looked hurt. His shoulders slumped slightly, the cocky, ever-present grin missing from his handsome face.
Soola opened her mouth to speak, smiling warmly; a glowing rune appeared above her eyes. "I don't think I can mend your feelings, even with my Gift."
Despite the statement, her words seemed to do the trick, Marcus smirked roguishly as he adjusted his leg plates, "Well you aren't the only gifted one."
Silence penetrated the room with palpable force as the conversation shifted to the language shared by all races of Azeroth.
Minutes became hours, until their passionate dialog was interrupted by lightning streaking from the cloudless sky, thunderously slamming into the lake's surface and bathing them in steam.
"Is something wrong?", Marcus asked.
"No my Marcus, you're just off to a great start."
The remaining pages have been thoroughly destroyed by the elements.
~Warning Cataclysm Spoiler!!~
A Steamy Romance Novel: Big Brass Bombs
The tough little goblin walked purposefully into the engineering shop, raising her eyebrows at a few items as she approached the shopkeeper.
"How's it going, Jack?" Her voice seductively brushed his pointy ears with the rough texture of someone who inhaled too much motorcycle exhaust.
The goblin called Jack looked up and grinned. "Revi! It's going much better since you just arrived." Jack set his arclight spanner on the table. "What can I do ya for?"
Holding her elbow in one hand, Revi tapped her chin lightly. "I'm not real sure. Ya got any specials?"
"Are you kidding? I've got the best deals anywhere!" Jack replied enthusiastically. "Just got these in this morning, in all sorts of colors. Small red rockets, got some in blue and green too." Revi's disappointed look was not missed by the expert shopkeeper, and he quickly upped the ante. There was a loud 'thud' as Jack dropped something on the table, "I call it The Big One," he said. "It's goblin only, very difficult to find."
"Nice, very nice," Revi said, sounding unconvinced. Her eyes wandered a bit.
"Okay, fine. I can see you're a goblin of superb taste." Jack looked around conspiratorially before carefully laying out a new item, buckling the table with an ominous creak. "It's called..." Jack paused for dramatic effect, "The Bigger One!"
Revi's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that... is it... real?"
Feeling the advantage, Jack allowed himself to relax a bit. Putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair, he replied with lazily narrowed eyes, "It's 100% goblin parts, baby. Natural resources."
After a moment of hesitation, Revi reached out and gingerly stroked the smooth yellow surface. "I'll take two!"
"Excellent! You know, if you like that, you might be interested in some hardened adamantite tubes. They can enhance the effect."
Revi nodded excitedly and looked behind Jack at something on the wall. "What is that?"
Jack looked over his shoulder. "Oh, those are for reviving dead people."
Revi was intrigued. "Can they be used on someone while they're still alive?"
Never wanting to miss a sale, Jack responded without missing a beat, "Oh sure! Tell you what. You get all this stuff, and I'll throw in a pair of mayhem projection goggles for half price!"
Revi pulled out a sack of coins that made Jack drool. "Why not? Motorcycle sales have been good this year."
As Jack quickly tallied the total, he asked, "This must be a serious raid or somethin'?"
Revi shrugged, "Nah, I got a blind date with a guy named Marcus tonight."
Jack nodded. "What about that guy from the motor club you was datin'?"
The leather-clad goblin scooped up her bag with one arm, and held up an outstretched hand. "He never put a ring on it. A girl's gotta have her priorities."
Jack smiled and shook his head as he watched her walk out of the shop.
<The remaining pages require a secret goblin decoder ring to read.>
-----
This series, my dear Hoarders, is one of a kind in Azeroth. The Steamy Romance Novels follow a Dwarf Paladin by the name of Marcus and tell the tale of his...endeavors. There must have been one heck of a creative WoW developer who was feeling a bit frisky one night to come up with such an...engaging...gray item.
All of these books are obtained by a Rogue going around picking various mobs' pockets. Here we were lead to believe that Rogues were just after people's wallets...turns out they like to steal books from the back pockets of people as well! Northern Exposure is a bit different though, and instead of being left in a back pocket, it just so happens to be left carelessly in a Bag of Fishing Treasures that you receive as a reward from the Dalaran fishing daily. To find out more about how to acquire each of these books, please click the links that are provided on each of the novels' titles.
That's all for this week. I hope that I've left you satisfied with this edition of Hoarders...*Sexy smirk*
Happy Thursday!
It's that time of the week again. I'm sure you're all waiting on pins and needles for the latest installment of Hoarders, aren't you? I knew it! Well, I'll be putting that up shortly, but first! I feel the urge to babble about what I've been doing. Go ahead and roll your eyes if you'd like, I'd just like to keep a record of the order of events that have been going on as of late.
It's what, day 3 now of me looking for Nuramoc? Still no sign of him. Matter of fact, I'm watching for him right now. Mad multi-tasking skill, eh?
The past two days have consisted of rep grinds for me on both my Shaman and Druid. Tonight mainly consisted of me spending an unhealthy amount of gold on the Thorium Brotherhood rep. I'm roughly half way through revered, so hopefully just another run or two through MC and I'll have enough cores to pop me through exalted. On the topic of MC, I got no Sulfron Ingot love yet again, nor did I get any Blood of the Mountain love. I did however score two relatively cheap ingots on the AH a bit ago (800gish...not bad imo), but now that I'm back down to 20k gold, I put a halt to my purchases for the evening. Hopefully I can get the last of what I need for the legendary mace verrrry soon here. I'm getting close!
Last night (that is to say, 24 hours ago) I managed to get Kelebek her Bloodsail Admiral title, which was pretty exciting. Now just to get that on Saz as well! First things first though, I must finish the Scepter quest line...which I actually have good news about. That book bit that didn't drop off of Onyxia? It was restored to me by a very sweet GM. I also bugged him about a few other minor things...a UI bug for one that I'm having on Saz, which he emailed me a fix for, and for two I pestered him about my Spirit Wolves AI. Lately they've taken a liking to going after mobs that are no where near me. Like, opposite of a large room no where near me. Apparently they didn't have any flags about it, so hopefully they'll dig into it and fix them soon. Doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it's usually right before they despawn and I end up being a dead Shaman on defloor (insert a Jose Jalapeno accent onto that last bit). So uh...yeah, the blue part of my scepter chain is almost done! I just need 6 more Elementium Ingots (oh boy...that's gonna hurt the wallet), and to finish the red quest. One more little step after these two are completed, and then I believe I'm done! I'm actually really nervous about making it by next Tuesday...by nervous I mean hella worried. Like, bad.
Also on the topic of rep AND the scepter quest line, one more complete run through AQ40, plus turning in all the bits for my AQ gear (which I have all but one idol I believe), plus the rest of the scepter chain, and I should just barely squeak out an exalted rep with the Brood. Kinda pumped.
So! The to do list for this week is kind of a doosy.
- Get a full clear AQ 40 run.
- Get the full AQ 40 gear set.
- Clear BWL and successfully do the red quest (/scared to mess it up)
- Finish the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest line
- Farm MC trash for cores and Blood of the Mountains
- Find Nuramoc and make him mine!
- Maybe get some peeps to run BT so I can finally be exalted with the Ashtongue Deathsworn
- Get Bloodsail Admiral on Saz
- BG farm to the best of my laggy abilities to get the last tabard needed for Twenty-Five Tabards
- Level the DK a little more so I can go mining without dying.
- Remember to eat/sleep/shower/drink/do other general RL things
This, my friends, is a horribly daunting list. I WILL get this done though! I'm determined...crazy...but determined.
Innnnn other news, as neat as this pre-Cataclysm event is, it needs to be done. The earth shaking, the invasion, the constant slaughter of my poor little alts as they try to check the mailbox for the newest shipment of gold sales...it needs to be over with already. Today I moved all three of my bankers to the Exodar simply because every time I logged over to them, I saw the following:
Never failed. Amazingly only my Mage managed to not die to the elementals, though she came close last night. Her hearth was set to Shattrath, so moving her was no big deal (I've since learn how to teleport on her, thanks to the trainer in Shatt). The Paladin and Warrior were a different story though. The Pally only died once while on her way to the docks of Stormwind...the Warrior? He got his poop pushed in twice. Irritating to say the least. All I wanted to do was mail things from my guild bank to Saz...
What was kinda neat at first has just become a royal hassle, especially now that everyone's lost interest and the invasions seem to last three times as long now simply because no one cares. Go go Deathwing, destroy some shiz so we can go back to semi normalcy, kthnx.
My wish of the week - besides wishing that my list of things gets accomplished that is - is wishing I had something that could fraps Deathwing destroying the royal crap out of Azeroth. If anyone's doing something of that nature and posting it on youtube, hook me up with a link! I'm sure it'll still be cool in the low settings/low fps version, but I long to see Deathwing in all his destructive glory! So yeah, hook a girl up ; )
Okay okay, enough Saz babble. I'll go get to putting this week's Hoarders up.
It's what, day 3 now of me looking for Nuramoc? Still no sign of him. Matter of fact, I'm watching for him right now. Mad multi-tasking skill, eh?
The past two days have consisted of rep grinds for me on both my Shaman and Druid. Tonight mainly consisted of me spending an unhealthy amount of gold on the Thorium Brotherhood rep. I'm roughly half way through revered, so hopefully just another run or two through MC and I'll have enough cores to pop me through exalted. On the topic of MC, I got no Sulfron Ingot love yet again, nor did I get any Blood of the Mountain love. I did however score two relatively cheap ingots on the AH a bit ago (800gish...not bad imo), but now that I'm back down to 20k gold, I put a halt to my purchases for the evening. Hopefully I can get the last of what I need for the legendary mace verrrry soon here. I'm getting close!
Last night (that is to say, 24 hours ago) I managed to get Kelebek her Bloodsail Admiral title, which was pretty exciting. Now just to get that on Saz as well! First things first though, I must finish the Scepter quest line...which I actually have good news about. That book bit that didn't drop off of Onyxia? It was restored to me by a very sweet GM. I also bugged him about a few other minor things...a UI bug for one that I'm having on Saz, which he emailed me a fix for, and for two I pestered him about my Spirit Wolves AI. Lately they've taken a liking to going after mobs that are no where near me. Like, opposite of a large room no where near me. Apparently they didn't have any flags about it, so hopefully they'll dig into it and fix them soon. Doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it's usually right before they despawn and I end up being a dead Shaman on defloor (insert a Jose Jalapeno accent onto that last bit). So uh...yeah, the blue part of my scepter chain is almost done! I just need 6 more Elementium Ingots (oh boy...that's gonna hurt the wallet), and to finish the red quest. One more little step after these two are completed, and then I believe I'm done! I'm actually really nervous about making it by next Tuesday...by nervous I mean hella worried. Like, bad.
Also on the topic of rep AND the scepter quest line, one more complete run through AQ40, plus turning in all the bits for my AQ gear (which I have all but one idol I believe), plus the rest of the scepter chain, and I should just barely squeak out an exalted rep with the Brood. Kinda pumped.
So! The to do list for this week is kind of a doosy.
- Get a full clear AQ 40 run.
- Get the full AQ 40 gear set.
- Clear BWL and successfully do the red quest (/scared to mess it up)
- Finish the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest line
- Farm MC trash for cores and Blood of the Mountains
- Find Nuramoc and make him mine!
- Maybe get some peeps to run BT so I can finally be exalted with the Ashtongue Deathsworn
- Get Bloodsail Admiral on Saz
- BG farm to the best of my laggy abilities to get the last tabard needed for Twenty-Five Tabards
- Level the DK a little more so I can go mining without dying.
- Remember to eat/sleep/shower/drink/do other general RL things
This, my friends, is a horribly daunting list. I WILL get this done though! I'm determined...crazy...but determined.
Innnnn other news, as neat as this pre-Cataclysm event is, it needs to be done. The earth shaking, the invasion, the constant slaughter of my poor little alts as they try to check the mailbox for the newest shipment of gold sales...it needs to be over with already. Today I moved all three of my bankers to the Exodar simply because every time I logged over to them, I saw the following:
Never failed. Amazingly only my Mage managed to not die to the elementals, though she came close last night. Her hearth was set to Shattrath, so moving her was no big deal (I've since learn how to teleport on her, thanks to the trainer in Shatt). The Paladin and Warrior were a different story though. The Pally only died once while on her way to the docks of Stormwind...the Warrior? He got his poop pushed in twice. Irritating to say the least. All I wanted to do was mail things from my guild bank to Saz...
What was kinda neat at first has just become a royal hassle, especially now that everyone's lost interest and the invasions seem to last three times as long now simply because no one cares. Go go Deathwing, destroy some shiz so we can go back to semi normalcy, kthnx.
My wish of the week - besides wishing that my list of things gets accomplished that is - is wishing I had something that could fraps Deathwing destroying the royal crap out of Azeroth. If anyone's doing something of that nature and posting it on youtube, hook me up with a link! I'm sure it'll still be cool in the low settings/low fps version, but I long to see Deathwing in all his destructive glory! So yeah, hook a girl up ; )
Okay okay, enough Saz babble. I'll go get to putting this week's Hoarders up.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The Rack: Shaman Tier
The Rack is my new weekly installment, and it's the sister column to Hoarders. While I'd love to simply add in collectible gear to Hoarders: Azeroth Edition, there's just too much of it! The Rack shall have it's own little corner of my blog because of this, and shall be a weekly/bi-weekly publication. Enjoy!
Welcome to The Rack! I'd like to begin this series with one of my more favorite collections, Shaman Tier. There is a mighty long list of it, some of which is unobtainable now. I will try to include as many shots of what I have as possible, but seeing as though I don't have all the missing pieces to all of the sets yet, I will be including some images that come from wowhead.com. If these images happen to be of you, thanks for sharing these with the public! If you hadn't, I may have never taken interest in tier sets in the first place. I hope you don't mind me using them too much!
Wrath of the Lich King
Tier 10.5 Heroic (277)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 10.5 (264)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 10 (251)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Sorry for the lack of Saz T10 shots. I'm half and half right now with 251/264 gear, and I can't seem to find my full 251 shots right this minute.
Tier 9.5 Heroic (258)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 9.5 (245)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 9 (232)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
T9 all pretty much looked the same...
Tier 8.5 (226)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Improper shoulders, never got the 226s!
Tier 8 (219)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Improper helm, never got the 219 version.
Tier 7.5 (213)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 7 (200)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
The Burning Crusade
Tier 6
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Currently own over half of this set.
Tier 5
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Currently only own two pieces of this set.
Tier 4
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Old School WoW
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
There you have it, all of the Shaman tier sets that are currently live. I know for me that this collection is a constant work in progress, especially since I missed Vanilla WoW raiding and only managed to get my T4 set back in Burning Crusade. The Skyshatter set (t6) is probably my favorite set, followed closely by the Valorous Earthshatter (t7.5) set, but really, I'm kind of partial to them all. So many neat looking sets, so little time!
I know that there are also many different PvP gear sets, but a good chunk of them are no longer purchasable and I tend not to collect PvP sets : P Perhaps in the near future I shall dedicate a post just to the different PvP sets! For now though, bask in all that is PvE tier!
I hope that you enjoyed the first installment of The Rack. I assure you, more entertaining posts will come in the future!
Disclaimer: If I linked or marked anything incorrectly, feel free to point it out and I shall fix it asap. Usually I'm a stickler for details, but chances are I flubbed somewhere in here.
Welcome to The Rack! I'd like to begin this series with one of my more favorite collections, Shaman Tier. There is a mighty long list of it, some of which is unobtainable now. I will try to include as many shots of what I have as possible, but seeing as though I don't have all the missing pieces to all of the sets yet, I will be including some images that come from wowhead.com. If these images happen to be of you, thanks for sharing these with the public! If you hadn't, I may have never taken interest in tier sets in the first place. I hope you don't mind me using them too much!
Wrath of the Lich King
Tier 10.5 Heroic (277)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 10.5 (264)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 10 (251)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Sorry for the lack of Saz T10 shots. I'm half and half right now with 251/264 gear, and I can't seem to find my full 251 shots right this minute.
Tier 9.5 Heroic (258)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 9.5 (245)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 9 (232)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
T9 all pretty much looked the same...
Tier 8.5 (226)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Improper shoulders, never got the 226s!
Tier 8 (219)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Improper helm, never got the 219 version.
Tier 7.5 (213)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Tier 7 (200)
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
The Burning Crusade
Tier 6
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Currently own over half of this set.
Tier 5
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Currently only own two pieces of this set.
Tier 4
Enhancement
Elemental
Restoration
Old School WoW
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
There you have it, all of the Shaman tier sets that are currently live. I know for me that this collection is a constant work in progress, especially since I missed Vanilla WoW raiding and only managed to get my T4 set back in Burning Crusade. The Skyshatter set (t6) is probably my favorite set, followed closely by the Valorous Earthshatter (t7.5) set, but really, I'm kind of partial to them all. So many neat looking sets, so little time!
I know that there are also many different PvP gear sets, but a good chunk of them are no longer purchasable and I tend not to collect PvP sets : P Perhaps in the near future I shall dedicate a post just to the different PvP sets! For now though, bask in all that is PvE tier!
I hope that you enjoyed the first installment of The Rack. I assure you, more entertaining posts will come in the future!
Disclaimer: If I linked or marked anything incorrectly, feel free to point it out and I shall fix it asap. Usually I'm a stickler for details, but chances are I flubbed somewhere in here.
The Sky is Falling!
Alrighty, so I've been meaning to start up another segment in my writing, a column I suppose you could call it? Unfortunately I haven't quite gotten around to it yet, seeing as though I'm actually able to play WoW again! One of my buddies suggested that I should simply put WoW on an external hard drive, since I didn't have enough room on my laptop's basic hard drive. He then dug up this external hard drive over on Newegg.com and I proceeded to order it. I must say, I'm in love....and it was only $30. 120g hard drive for $30? Can't go wrong.
So I've been busy lag-playing like crazy. I've been attempting to get caught up on all of the event quests on both Saz and Kelebek, farming Anzu on both of these toons, farming ZG as much as I can on Saz (both mounts still fail to drop for me), attempting to get the rest of my pages for the Scepter of the Shifting Sands and I've been camping rares on my hunter.
Today I finally migrated my Shaman from Battle of Serenity over to Easy Company. Honestly, it was crazy to be able to speak to people in guild chat again. I'm pretty darn excited for the change. It's going to be an adjustment not having to deal with the management of a guild, but it should be good for me. Much less stressful, to say the least.
I managed to get my paws on the chapter out of MC for the Scepter quest line, and after EC ran AQ40 tonight, we ran Onyxia's layer. Sadly, there was three of us on the quest line, and not a one of us got our chapter from her. Hopefully I can get both the Ony and BWL chapters tomorrow, and hopefully I won't have to buy a ton of elementium to finish this bugger...
As far as mounts are concerned, RNG is still being a hater.
Trying to complete the Elemental Invasion events is bring problematic. The spawns in Northrend are a bit difficult to track down, but at least we now get credit for closing the rifts in either IF or SW....assuming your video card doesn't die from spell over load that is (which mine kind of does). It was pretty fun getting to do the old bosses once those were opened, to say the least.
A piece of advice for all you Hunters planning to fly around to try and tame rare pets: get epic flying! I've been putting around on my little 100% bird on my Hunter, and it's pretty maddening after being spoiled by my Shaman's and Druid's 310%. I'm now attempting to hit the 30k gold mark so I can buy her at least 280% flying to help out in my mission to catch all kinds of rare animals. So far though I've managed to tame four of the twenty-something pets on my list. Nothing too fancy yet, but I'm working on fixing that ; )
Currently I have my Hunter parked out in Netherstorm, waiting for the opportunity to tame Nuramoc. Hopefully I'll get him soon so I can move on to Northrend critters!
So that's what I've been up to. Hopefully I'll have the time/ambition to write up a new article for you all either later on tonight or sometime tomorrow. I think some of you may really dig what I have in mind. In the event that I get to preoccupied to start up my new column, you all will at least still get this week's edition of Hoarders. Are you pumped? I'm sure you are : P
So I've been busy lag-playing like crazy. I've been attempting to get caught up on all of the event quests on both Saz and Kelebek, farming Anzu on both of these toons, farming ZG as much as I can on Saz (both mounts still fail to drop for me), attempting to get the rest of my pages for the Scepter of the Shifting Sands and I've been camping rares on my hunter.
Today I finally migrated my Shaman from Battle of Serenity over to Easy Company. Honestly, it was crazy to be able to speak to people in guild chat again. I'm pretty darn excited for the change. It's going to be an adjustment not having to deal with the management of a guild, but it should be good for me. Much less stressful, to say the least.
I managed to get my paws on the chapter out of MC for the Scepter quest line, and after EC ran AQ40 tonight, we ran Onyxia's layer. Sadly, there was three of us on the quest line, and not a one of us got our chapter from her. Hopefully I can get both the Ony and BWL chapters tomorrow, and hopefully I won't have to buy a ton of elementium to finish this bugger...
As far as mounts are concerned, RNG is still being a hater.
Trying to complete the Elemental Invasion events is bring problematic. The spawns in Northrend are a bit difficult to track down, but at least we now get credit for closing the rifts in either IF or SW....assuming your video card doesn't die from spell over load that is (which mine kind of does). It was pretty fun getting to do the old bosses once those were opened, to say the least.
A piece of advice for all you Hunters planning to fly around to try and tame rare pets: get epic flying! I've been putting around on my little 100% bird on my Hunter, and it's pretty maddening after being spoiled by my Shaman's and Druid's 310%. I'm now attempting to hit the 30k gold mark so I can buy her at least 280% flying to help out in my mission to catch all kinds of rare animals. So far though I've managed to tame four of the twenty-something pets on my list. Nothing too fancy yet, but I'm working on fixing that ; )
Loka
Serenity
Greg
Widdershins
Currently I have my Hunter parked out in Netherstorm, waiting for the opportunity to tame Nuramoc. Hopefully I'll get him soon so I can move on to Northrend critters!
So that's what I've been up to. Hopefully I'll have the time/ambition to write up a new article for you all either later on tonight or sometime tomorrow. I think some of you may really dig what I have in mind. In the event that I get to preoccupied to start up my new column, you all will at least still get this week's edition of Hoarders. Are you pumped? I'm sure you are : P
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Quick (Hunter) Pet Post
Just released over on MMO-Champion, Ghostcrawler! Too cool. Well played Blizzard, well played.
So there's this guy and supposedly a spectral crab coming our way in Cataclysm. They both fall into the "Spirit Beast" category and they're both gorgeous. Hopefully their spawn points are a bit more spread out instead of just being in one, camp-able place like Arcturis. If not, I more than likely won't get this guy until our NEXT expansion...thank you my dear, sweet, high population server /silly sarcasm.
That's all for now, hopefully I'll have something more to share tomorrow : )
So there's this guy and supposedly a spectral crab coming our way in Cataclysm. They both fall into the "Spirit Beast" category and they're both gorgeous. Hopefully their spawn points are a bit more spread out instead of just being in one, camp-able place like Arcturis. If not, I more than likely won't get this guy until our NEXT expansion...thank you my dear, sweet, high population server /silly sarcasm.
That's all for now, hopefully I'll have something more to share tomorrow : )
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Bang Bang Bang!
*Coughs*
Please excuse all of the dust and the multitudes of lazy peons. As you can see, I've been doing a bit of construction on my blog. If you could, please bear with me while I get all the bells and whistles onto their proper shelves. Go ahead and make yourself comfy if you'd like though, I think I have some ear plugs and a reading lamp around here somewhere...
More posts to be coming soon!
Please excuse all of the dust and the multitudes of lazy peons. As you can see, I've been doing a bit of construction on my blog. If you could, please bear with me while I get all the bells and whistles onto their proper shelves. Go ahead and make yourself comfy if you'd like though, I think I have some ear plugs and a reading lamp around here somewhere...
More posts to be coming soon!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Utility, or Just a Buff Bot?
Inspired by the shared topic over on Blog Azeroth, started up by Shop of Runeforge Gossip.
In this day and age of extreme homogenization one begins to wonder "Which classes/specs should I bring to my raid?" With the most recent of changes within WoW it seems now that the variety requirement isn't as steep as it once was. Don't have X buff because you're missing Y class? No problem! Class Z now also offers X buff! So how do you choose who to take in a raid if buffs are so easily covered these days?
I've always been more of a "bring the player, not the class" kind of a person, so long as a certain class wasn't stacked too heavily (after all, four Paladins in a 10 man, no matter what the specs, becomes a bit over bearing loot-wise). With the possibility of strict 10 man only guilds on the horizon though, and more difficult raids at that, many raid leaders are now beginning to look more at what specifically would qualify Z class over X in terms of utility, since now both classes offer the same buffs.
So what should you bring, and why? Well, here's my little narrow scope on what I know.
Shamans
While our survivability may not be the greatest (ask any Shaman who's attempted to live through the AoE fest that is the first few pulls in ICC...any other melee class can survive quite a few hits while the Enhancement Shaman will die in 3-4 explosions unless a healer is dedicated to them) our utility is pretty stellar, in my biased opinion.
- Hex: Need CC? We got it! While we may not be as practiced as our Mage friends with this talent, it is there.
- Heroism/Bloodlust: This has been our staple benefit to raids the world over for years now. While a certain other class may also bring a similar buff, no one is as practiced in popping this type of spell as we are. Shaman haste is more tasty than any other!
- Totems: How we bring buffs to the raid. While certain totems may be improved for certain specs, over all we can switch out our totems to fit any situation.
- Support Heals: While in a DPS spec (especially Enhancement) our healing spells may not be the greatest, but sometimes a raid aware Shaman can help the raid healers save the day. There's been more than one occasion at the end of a long fight where I've had to pop off a chain heal or two to my fellow melee-ers simply because we had lost one too many healers, enabling the team a few more precious seconds to beat up that beasty.
- Wolves: The Enhancement specialty. These guys don't just up the Enhance's DPS, but they also help to heal us. As long as these guys are out, the healers' mana is not being spent on us. They also have a taunt for those "just in case" moments.
- Super sexy.
Druids
Notorious for their survivability despite their leathery gear, a druid is an excellent addition to any raid.
- Cyclone/Bash/Maim: Druids have multiple ways of CCing a mob, but each spec excels with a different form of CC.
- The Almighty Battle Rez: Did your MT die because his healer decided to pick their nose for a moment? No problem! A druid can easily bring them back to life, provided this ability isn't already on cool down because of the noob hunter who decided to stand in the fire.
- Innervate: A healer's best friend. Especially with the new mana restrictions, having a few druids (different specs, of course) in a raid will be a precious thing to have.
- Bear Form: Sometimes a kitty-gone-bear can save a kill if a tank dies! While still a bit squishy due to lack of armor talents, a cat can still take a hit if he/she pops into bear form.
- Insect Swarm: This doesn't have too much of a raid benefit, other than DPS, but seriously...BUGS! Don't make a Boomkin mad, they will swarm you with BEES!!!
- The pimps of all classes.
Warlocks
Them in their cute little clothie armor...they may be a bit on the squishy side, but they're a bit more resilient than you think. Different specs can also potentially bring in certain stuns if such a fight requires it.
- Soul Stones: This can help save a healers life after they lost it, or simply make a run back after a wipe a whole lot shorter.
- Banish: While this may only work on Elemental/Demon types, this form of CC can be awfully useful.
- Healthstones: When used properly by the raid body, this is a healer's friend!
- Ritual of Summoning: Need to get that new DPS that you just pulled into the raid to you in a hot minute? No problem!
- They look wicked doing what they do.
Hunters
The kings of kiting. The masters of beasts. A hunter specced as Survival is not guaranteed to survive, though. Despite that little fact, Hunters have become an amazing utility class.
- Pets: With the new raid wide buffs that pets give out, a Hunter can easily switch between his/her kids to ensure that your raid has what it needs.
- Burst DPS: Instant shots and excellent burst DPS make hunters excellent for random kill-a-mob-during-a-boss fight. Though, even just on bosses, these guys bring great damage to the table.
- CC: While a Hunter may not be able to turn a mob into a horny toad or a sweet little sheep/turtle/piggy/penguin, they do have a few CCish abilities. Marksmen can Silence with their Silencing shot and Survivalists can put something to sleep with their Wyvern Sting.
- Can you really argue with someone who totes around a gun/bow?
Priests
I wish I could give this class love! I just haven't had the privilege of raiding on my Priest yet, thus I feel that I can't give this class the justice it deserves. I assure you though, you'd do well with at least one talented Priest in your raid somewhere. Shadow is deliciously evil, Holy's got them raid heals on lock-down, and Disco brings in those oh-so-sexy bubbles.
Ultimately, when it comes to setting up a raid, it will still be "bring the player, not the class". While some of the more hardcore types will be able to hand choose their raids a bit more to ensure that they have the max amount of utility/buffs, the rest of us will end up relying on what we have, what we know, and a little bit of good ol' fashioned RNG luck.
In this day and age of extreme homogenization one begins to wonder "Which classes/specs should I bring to my raid?" With the most recent of changes within WoW it seems now that the variety requirement isn't as steep as it once was. Don't have X buff because you're missing Y class? No problem! Class Z now also offers X buff! So how do you choose who to take in a raid if buffs are so easily covered these days?
I've always been more of a "bring the player, not the class" kind of a person, so long as a certain class wasn't stacked too heavily (after all, four Paladins in a 10 man, no matter what the specs, becomes a bit over bearing loot-wise). With the possibility of strict 10 man only guilds on the horizon though, and more difficult raids at that, many raid leaders are now beginning to look more at what specifically would qualify Z class over X in terms of utility, since now both classes offer the same buffs.
So what should you bring, and why? Well, here's my little narrow scope on what I know.
Shamans
While our survivability may not be the greatest (ask any Shaman who's attempted to live through the AoE fest that is the first few pulls in ICC...any other melee class can survive quite a few hits while the Enhancement Shaman will die in 3-4 explosions unless a healer is dedicated to them) our utility is pretty stellar, in my biased opinion.
- Hex: Need CC? We got it! While we may not be as practiced as our Mage friends with this talent, it is there.
- Heroism/Bloodlust: This has been our staple benefit to raids the world over for years now. While a certain other class may also bring a similar buff, no one is as practiced in popping this type of spell as we are. Shaman haste is more tasty than any other!
- Totems: How we bring buffs to the raid. While certain totems may be improved for certain specs, over all we can switch out our totems to fit any situation.
- Support Heals: While in a DPS spec (especially Enhancement) our healing spells may not be the greatest, but sometimes a raid aware Shaman can help the raid healers save the day. There's been more than one occasion at the end of a long fight where I've had to pop off a chain heal or two to my fellow melee-ers simply because we had lost one too many healers, enabling the team a few more precious seconds to beat up that beasty.
- Wolves: The Enhancement specialty. These guys don't just up the Enhance's DPS, but they also help to heal us. As long as these guys are out, the healers' mana is not being spent on us. They also have a taunt for those "just in case" moments.
- Super sexy.
Druids
Notorious for their survivability despite their leathery gear, a druid is an excellent addition to any raid.
- Cyclone/Bash/Maim: Druids have multiple ways of CCing a mob, but each spec excels with a different form of CC.
- The Almighty Battle Rez: Did your MT die because his healer decided to pick their nose for a moment? No problem! A druid can easily bring them back to life, provided this ability isn't already on cool down because of the noob hunter who decided to stand in the fire.
- Innervate: A healer's best friend. Especially with the new mana restrictions, having a few druids (different specs, of course) in a raid will be a precious thing to have.
- Bear Form: Sometimes a kitty-gone-bear can save a kill if a tank dies! While still a bit squishy due to lack of armor talents, a cat can still take a hit if he/she pops into bear form.
- Insect Swarm: This doesn't have too much of a raid benefit, other than DPS, but seriously...BUGS! Don't make a Boomkin mad, they will swarm you with BEES!!!
- The pimps of all classes.
Warlocks
Them in their cute little clothie armor...they may be a bit on the squishy side, but they're a bit more resilient than you think. Different specs can also potentially bring in certain stuns if such a fight requires it.
- Soul Stones: This can help save a healers life after they lost it, or simply make a run back after a wipe a whole lot shorter.
- Banish: While this may only work on Elemental/Demon types, this form of CC can be awfully useful.
- Healthstones: When used properly by the raid body, this is a healer's friend!
- Ritual of Summoning: Need to get that new DPS that you just pulled into the raid to you in a hot minute? No problem!
- They look wicked doing what they do.
Hunters
The kings of kiting. The masters of beasts. A hunter specced as Survival is not guaranteed to survive, though. Despite that little fact, Hunters have become an amazing utility class.
- Pets: With the new raid wide buffs that pets give out, a Hunter can easily switch between his/her kids to ensure that your raid has what it needs.
- Burst DPS: Instant shots and excellent burst DPS make hunters excellent for random kill-a-mob-during-a-boss fight. Though, even just on bosses, these guys bring great damage to the table.
- CC: While a Hunter may not be able to turn a mob into a horny toad or a sweet little sheep/turtle/piggy/penguin, they do have a few CCish abilities. Marksmen can Silence with their Silencing shot and Survivalists can put something to sleep with their Wyvern Sting.
- Can you really argue with someone who totes around a gun/bow?
Priests
I wish I could give this class love! I just haven't had the privilege of raiding on my Priest yet, thus I feel that I can't give this class the justice it deserves. I assure you though, you'd do well with at least one talented Priest in your raid somewhere. Shadow is deliciously evil, Holy's got them raid heals on lock-down, and Disco brings in those oh-so-sexy bubbles.
Ultimately, when it comes to setting up a raid, it will still be "bring the player, not the class". While some of the more hardcore types will be able to hand choose their raids a bit more to ensure that they have the max amount of utility/buffs, the rest of us will end up relying on what we have, what we know, and a little bit of good ol' fashioned RNG luck.
Hoarders: Azeroth Edition - Get 'em Fido!
Welcome to another edition of Hoarders! This week I've decided that I'm going to be doing an article on rare Hunter pets in celebration of Hunters now being able to have up to twenty five different combat pets. Now, you may have been expecting this series to consist of only items, but this simply is not the case! Be sure to keep tuning in, for I shall cover pets (combat and non combat), mounts, and random collectible items that you may randomly find off of various mobs around Azeroth and Outlands.
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All too soon my Hunter's stables shall be over flowing with creatures that have tusks, claws, and fangs. I plan on making an attempt to tame some of the more rare and unique creatures in the game, and I'd like to share with where you can find these beauties yourself. Let's get started then, shall we?
First, I'd like to begin with what I already have. While not all of these pets are necessarily rare, they seem to be at least semi-unique over on my server.
Brody - A white lion with a mane.
Not really incredibly rare, but he is a bit problematic to get seeing as though he is spawned from one of two quests. I was lucky enough to have a good friend of my to ask me one day if I would like him prior to me having to level all the way up to my 50s to be able to take a crack at Sian-Rotam. So, I ran my little level 20-something self all the way through Stranglethorn Vale (with the help of a kind soul who took pity on me getting killed by mobs every 10 feet or so), and managed to get over to the Barrens. Once I arrived my friend hopped over to his horde character and promptly spawned Echeyakee for me. A few excited moments later, he was mine! I really love all of the male lion skins, but he is by far my favorite.
River - A ghostly white leopard. Not a spirit beast.
This one you don't see all too often. This is another recommendation to me by the same friend who helped me obtain my beloved Brody. He actually came out to help me search for the cat figurines that spawn this interesting pet on his Dwarf Hunter (treasure finding ftw!), and within a half hour or so I was taming my dear little River. Here's more information on how to find this leopard.
~Random Fact~ Yes, she is named after River Tam for you Firefly fans out there. My guild for the past year has been <Battle of Serenity>. Yes, I'm a total geek.
Tyson - A black devilsaur.
No, he's not rare, but he's still cool looking! I got this guy out in Netherstorm, but he's also obtainable in Un'Goro Crater. He's named after a friend of mine, and the temper kinda fits : P
Gingervitus - A red worg.
Again, she's by no means rare, but I had to have a ginger wolf! For I am a ginger myself. Good reasoning, don't you think? Easily obtainable in Burning Steppes.
Jambi - A leopard spirit beast.
This is currently my pride and joy of my small collection. Loque'nahak is a rare spawn out in Sholazar Basin. He has a semi lengthy time spawn and have several different spawn points within the basin. To catch this beasty, I highly suggest reading the comments over on that wowhead link that I just gave. As with any spirit beast, your best weapon is information. This guy is highly sought after for both Hunters and those after the Northern Exposure achievement, and is located in a very high traffic area thanks to the farm-ability of the area. I actually got extremely lucky with this guy. After finally admiring defeat while hunting for the bear spirit beast (more on him later), I began to level my Hunter in the basin. One morning I logged on to take a quick cruise around this guy's spawn points just before the servers went down for maintenance, and there he was! NPC Scan screamed at me, and after a few false pulls that almost killed my little Draenei butt, he was mine. If you've never experienced the incredible rush you get when you finally nab something this rare, I recommend it.
Okay, enough talking about the kids that I have, now to talk about the ones that I want! This list is a bit long, but I'll try to stick to the rare(er) ones!
Arcturis - A bear spirit beast.
He is certainly not for tanking, but man, he is mighty purty! Prior to getting Jambi, I had actually spent a good amount of time camping this bugger in Grizzly Hills. After one shift of 12 straight hours of no spawn (for he only has one spawn point), much grief from various level 80s threatening to steal him from me, and being rather tired, I called it quits and continued to level on. Someday soon he shall be mine!
Skoll - A blue saber worg spirit beast with lightning.
This guy is incredibly gorgeous. I have yet to try and farm for him, but I'm looking forward to the day that I tame him. Oh yes, he is far too pretty for his own good! You can try your luck at finding him at his various spawn points in Storm Peaks.
Gondria - A purplish ghostly tiger spirit beast.
This is another spirit beast that I have yet to attempt to farm. She is one spirit beast that I originally didn't care much for, but she's definitely grown on me. Gondria has multiple spawn points over in Zul'Drak. For those of you who follow WoW Insider, you may have seen this epic post about some wonderful guildies who spent about 7 hours kiting this amazing spirit beast around until their guild Hunter got online to tame her. Pretty cool stuff, Batman : )
Aotona - A blue parrot.
Oh Aotona, what a beauty you are! (Oh my...I'm beginning to sound like the Crocodile Hunter...) She's another one of Sholazar Basin's handful of rare spawns. She has several spawn points, and like Loque'nahak, is a requirement for the Northern Exposure achievement. On my server I have perhaps seen one tamed Aotona, so you can see why I'd love to have this bird in my collection!
King Krush - A green devilsaur.
Same model as my Tyson that I already have, but instead of being black he's green! He's the third rare tamable spawn out in Sholazar Basin, and like the other two, he has multiple spawn points and is on the kill list for Northern Exposure. I can't really recall ever seeing this guy being sported around any of the main hubs, thus again, a must have!
Uhk'loc - An all white gorilla.
This is the only all white, tamable gorilla currently in game. Honestly I'm a bit torn between this guy's model, and the dark grey version. Naturally though, I'll more than likely end up getting the rare guy! Just because that's how I roll. Uhk'loc is currently hiding out somewhere in Un'Goro Crater.
Tallstriders - They're...well, ostriches?
In general these guys aren't rare. They're all over Kalimdor in fact, but...there is not one, nor two, but THREE different rare colors for these guys. Honestly, I'm torn as to which one to get! The pink one - can be found out in Mulgore, the purple one - can be found in Terokkar Forest, or the turquoise one - can be found out at Darkshore. Tough choice really, but I'm leaning towards the purple, with pink coming in at a close second!
Nuramoc - A purple chimaera.
This guy I've actually managed to kill a few times (while I'm on anything but my Hunter I tend to kill anything that pops up on NPC Scan...), but he's really a rare spawn out in Netherstorm. I'm not a huge chimaera fan, but this dude looks kinda cool, plus he's rare. Therefor, he's cool in my book!
Scion of Quetz'lun - A white spiked wind serpent.
He's pretty neat looking I must say, for a wind serpent. I'm not too partial to wind serpents myself, but this guy may just be worth going after. You can try your luck at finding him over in Zul'Drak.
Firefly - It's a yellow bug!
These guys aren't rare...in fact they're everywhere if you simply head out to Zangarmarsh. I really just wanted to end my "currently available" list on a geeky note! Once I tame one, you can be sure her name will be Serenity. <3
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For now I consider this list to be finished, but I may very well do a Cataclysm edition (Get 'em Fido 2.0 or something to that nature) in a few months time. If you'd like a complete list of all of the currently available pets, and for a sneak peak at those that shall become available when Cataclysm rocks our world, head on over to Petopia to check 'em out!
Happy hunting hoarders!
Edit: I meant to dedicate this post to a good friend of mine who had passed away a few months ago. He's the one who helped me acquire both Brody and River, as well as point me in the direction of the Tallstriders. Today is his birthday, so happy birthday Weezie! You're loved and missed by everyone who knew you over on Aggramar. We love you buddy. <3
-----
All too soon my Hunter's stables shall be over flowing with creatures that have tusks, claws, and fangs. I plan on making an attempt to tame some of the more rare and unique creatures in the game, and I'd like to share with where you can find these beauties yourself. Let's get started then, shall we?
First, I'd like to begin with what I already have. While not all of these pets are necessarily rare, they seem to be at least semi-unique over on my server.
Brody - A white lion with a mane.
Not really incredibly rare, but he is a bit problematic to get seeing as though he is spawned from one of two quests. I was lucky enough to have a good friend of my to ask me one day if I would like him prior to me having to level all the way up to my 50s to be able to take a crack at Sian-Rotam. So, I ran my little level 20-something self all the way through Stranglethorn Vale (with the help of a kind soul who took pity on me getting killed by mobs every 10 feet or so), and managed to get over to the Barrens. Once I arrived my friend hopped over to his horde character and promptly spawned Echeyakee for me. A few excited moments later, he was mine! I really love all of the male lion skins, but he is by far my favorite.
River - A ghostly white leopard. Not a spirit beast.
This one you don't see all too often. This is another recommendation to me by the same friend who helped me obtain my beloved Brody. He actually came out to help me search for the cat figurines that spawn this interesting pet on his Dwarf Hunter (treasure finding ftw!), and within a half hour or so I was taming my dear little River. Here's more information on how to find this leopard.
~Random Fact~ Yes, she is named after River Tam for you Firefly fans out there. My guild for the past year has been <Battle of Serenity>. Yes, I'm a total geek.
Tyson - A black devilsaur.
No, he's not rare, but he's still cool looking! I got this guy out in Netherstorm, but he's also obtainable in Un'Goro Crater. He's named after a friend of mine, and the temper kinda fits : P
Gingervitus - A red worg.
Again, she's by no means rare, but I had to have a ginger wolf! For I am a ginger myself. Good reasoning, don't you think? Easily obtainable in Burning Steppes.
Jambi - A leopard spirit beast.
This is currently my pride and joy of my small collection. Loque'nahak is a rare spawn out in Sholazar Basin. He has a semi lengthy time spawn and have several different spawn points within the basin. To catch this beasty, I highly suggest reading the comments over on that wowhead link that I just gave. As with any spirit beast, your best weapon is information. This guy is highly sought after for both Hunters and those after the Northern Exposure achievement, and is located in a very high traffic area thanks to the farm-ability of the area. I actually got extremely lucky with this guy. After finally admiring defeat while hunting for the bear spirit beast (more on him later), I began to level my Hunter in the basin. One morning I logged on to take a quick cruise around this guy's spawn points just before the servers went down for maintenance, and there he was! NPC Scan screamed at me, and after a few false pulls that almost killed my little Draenei butt, he was mine. If you've never experienced the incredible rush you get when you finally nab something this rare, I recommend it.
Okay, enough talking about the kids that I have, now to talk about the ones that I want! This list is a bit long, but I'll try to stick to the rare(er) ones!
Arcturis - A bear spirit beast.
He is certainly not for tanking, but man, he is mighty purty! Prior to getting Jambi, I had actually spent a good amount of time camping this bugger in Grizzly Hills. After one shift of 12 straight hours of no spawn (for he only has one spawn point), much grief from various level 80s threatening to steal him from me, and being rather tired, I called it quits and continued to level on. Someday soon he shall be mine!
Skoll - A blue saber worg spirit beast with lightning.
This guy is incredibly gorgeous. I have yet to try and farm for him, but I'm looking forward to the day that I tame him. Oh yes, he is far too pretty for his own good! You can try your luck at finding him at his various spawn points in Storm Peaks.
Gondria - A purplish ghostly tiger spirit beast.
This is another spirit beast that I have yet to attempt to farm. She is one spirit beast that I originally didn't care much for, but she's definitely grown on me. Gondria has multiple spawn points over in Zul'Drak. For those of you who follow WoW Insider, you may have seen this epic post about some wonderful guildies who spent about 7 hours kiting this amazing spirit beast around until their guild Hunter got online to tame her. Pretty cool stuff, Batman : )
Aotona - A blue parrot.
Oh Aotona, what a beauty you are! (Oh my...I'm beginning to sound like the Crocodile Hunter...) She's another one of Sholazar Basin's handful of rare spawns. She has several spawn points, and like Loque'nahak, is a requirement for the Northern Exposure achievement. On my server I have perhaps seen one tamed Aotona, so you can see why I'd love to have this bird in my collection!
King Krush - A green devilsaur.
Same model as my Tyson that I already have, but instead of being black he's green! He's the third rare tamable spawn out in Sholazar Basin, and like the other two, he has multiple spawn points and is on the kill list for Northern Exposure. I can't really recall ever seeing this guy being sported around any of the main hubs, thus again, a must have!
Uhk'loc - An all white gorilla.
This is the only all white, tamable gorilla currently in game. Honestly I'm a bit torn between this guy's model, and the dark grey version. Naturally though, I'll more than likely end up getting the rare guy! Just because that's how I roll. Uhk'loc is currently hiding out somewhere in Un'Goro Crater.
Tallstriders - They're...well, ostriches?
In general these guys aren't rare. They're all over Kalimdor in fact, but...there is not one, nor two, but THREE different rare colors for these guys. Honestly, I'm torn as to which one to get! The pink one - can be found out in Mulgore, the purple one - can be found in Terokkar Forest, or the turquoise one - can be found out at Darkshore. Tough choice really, but I'm leaning towards the purple, with pink coming in at a close second!
Nuramoc - A purple chimaera.
This guy I've actually managed to kill a few times (while I'm on anything but my Hunter I tend to kill anything that pops up on NPC Scan...), but he's really a rare spawn out in Netherstorm. I'm not a huge chimaera fan, but this dude looks kinda cool, plus he's rare. Therefor, he's cool in my book!
Scion of Quetz'lun - A white spiked wind serpent.
He's pretty neat looking I must say, for a wind serpent. I'm not too partial to wind serpents myself, but this guy may just be worth going after. You can try your luck at finding him over in Zul'Drak.
Firefly - It's a yellow bug!
These guys aren't rare...in fact they're everywhere if you simply head out to Zangarmarsh. I really just wanted to end my "currently available" list on a geeky note! Once I tame one, you can be sure her name will be Serenity. <3
-----
For now I consider this list to be finished, but I may very well do a Cataclysm edition (Get 'em Fido 2.0 or something to that nature) in a few months time. If you'd like a complete list of all of the currently available pets, and for a sneak peak at those that shall become available when Cataclysm rocks our world, head on over to Petopia to check 'em out!
Happy hunting hoarders!
Edit: I meant to dedicate this post to a good friend of mine who had passed away a few months ago. He's the one who helped me acquire both Brody and River, as well as point me in the direction of the Tallstriders. Today is his birthday, so happy birthday Weezie! You're loved and missed by everyone who knew you over on Aggramar. We love you buddy. <3
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